


The Prince of Sands

by ArieQuinn



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-11
Updated: 2017-09-22
Packaged: 2018-06-01 17:48:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6529921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArieQuinn/pseuds/ArieQuinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hyrule is in the midst of a Civil War with Hylians and Zoras fighting against Gorons and Humans, Link was orphaned as a baby and found by the Gerudo and taken in as one of their own. Over the years he establishes life as the king of thieves only for it to be revealed to him that he is the Hero of Ages. Link is forced to leave the life he knew behind and try to make sweeping changes to Gerudo, Human, and Hylian society to end the civil war and unite Hyrule against an enemy that threatens all of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning of A New Era

(I am new to this site and so I am trying to figure everything out! So if anything category wise or updating wise is wrong please bear with me until I figure it out. :) )

Dark clouds circled the once vibrant land of Hyrule acting as a natural barrier to prevent the goddesses' from seeing the war raging on below. Hylians and humans battled amongst each other, Gorons siding with the short tempered humans and Zoras siding with the mild mannered Hylians. The Deku Scrubs were the first causalities and the unfortunate Kokori fled their once safe forest to avoid the fires that the two armies had started in an attempt to flush the other out into the open. People from every race tried to flee the war and the suffering it caused them, but most never made it past the borders of Hyrule before soldiers mistaking them as armed enemies eliminated them.

In Castletown news was quickly spreading that a Goron army was on its way towards them and would arrive in three days, the news put fear into the citizens and both the soldiers and the guardsmen began to get ready for the assault. The guards said to the roaring crowds who demanded answers and who demanded to know what can be done about the situation," Everything is under control, we will not let them through the gates! They will not set foot into the castle!"

While the guards were talking to the villagers some of Hyrule's best soldiers were sneaking the Queen and her infant daughter out, the Queen cradled the child gently to her chest quickly walking through the back alleys. Tears threatened to spill from the Queen's blue eyes, the thought of leaving the citizens and her husband behind to an unfortunate fate broke her heart. The king had decided to remain and aid the soldiers in fighting for the Castle and the town while the citizens were oblivious to the fact that the guards and soldiers were keeping the full extent of the threat a secret while making sure to evacuate their own families. The Queen kept a pink shawl over her head to hide her pale delicate face, wavy golden hair, and the crown that she had refused to take off before fleeing. Relief filled her when her friend whispered to her," We're almost to the back gates, once you're across the border and out of harm's reach one of the soldiers will send a bird with a letter informing us. Once this is over we will send word for you to return."

When she heard those words she stopped them in the middle of the alley saying in a fear filled voice," Impa, I thought you were coming with us!"

"No, I cannot leave my people to defend the castle alone. The Sheikah are already low on numbers, the war is a hopeless one and now the Sheikah will be nothing more than a legend if we fall here. It has been an honor to serve the royal family and even in death we will continue to serve." Impa stoically told the frantic Queen, "The guards and soldiers are unable to ward off the entire army on their own. Do not worry the soldiers accompanying you are capable of protecting both you and the little princess."

For a moment the Queen thought about arguing but the baby in her arms began to wake up forcing her to continue towards the back gates before the child could start crying and alert everyone. The Queen heard a gentle hum coming from one of the buildings as her and the soldiers passed by, despite the huff of annoyance given by her entourage the Queen stopped in front of the building the pleasant tune was coming from and looked up to see a tall woman with long dark strawberry blond hair cradling an infant in her arms gently rocking it to the tune she hummed her purple dress swaying with her small movements. The woman stopped rocking the infant for a moment and looked out the window her dark blue eyes clashing with the Queen's light blue ones for a moment noticing that she was being watched, she gave the Queen a gentle smile and a small wave before turning away from the window and walking out of sight.

Impa took a hold of the Queen's arm harshly whispering," We have little time! Hurry!"

The Queen mentally detached herself from the situation numbly following Impa, she was sure that she had been too far away for the woman to notice who she was, but the fact that she was also leaving children behind to be killed didn't bode well with her. She exited Castletown wordlessly getting into the carriage her child now waking up to give a hungry cry bringing the Queen's attention to her infant and the guilt that was now crashing down on her. She told herself that she had to leave for her child's sake but the mother standing in front of the window would not leave her mind, she had allowed her husband to condemn that woman and her child. The sight had hit the Queen hard due to the hungry child in her arms. The drive whipped the horses into action. The carriage jolted forward the Queen almost fell over from the sudden movment a moment of panic struck her fearing that she would fall over and hurt the child, the thought caused her to cling onto the infant so that if she fell then the child would not be trapped under her. The Queen looked up from the golden haired infant to look at the fading torches that marked the entrance to Castletown unable to take the sight of it the Queen averted her gaze focusing her attention on her child and allowing herself to relax for the first time since the war began.

Impa waited at the back entrance to Castletown watching the carriage race across the field to ensure that there were no enemies lying in wait to ambush the Queen. No one except the king and a few chosen Soldiers knew of the Queen's departure in an effort to avoid enemies finding out and setting up a trap for her. Impa's red eyes softened in sadness once the carriage was out of sight she had seen how troubled the Queen was from having to leave the people behind and Impa wished that she could have consoled the Queen and told her that they would do what they could to get the people out, but if the royal family was to have any chance then the town and its citizens had to stand up to the threat. The king cared for his people and it had been with a heavy heart that he told Impa that unless drastic measures were taken the war would never end.

The Sheikah turned away from the field and walked back inside of Castletown as the drawbridge began to go up, the battle was only three days away at the most and she had a lot to do to prepare the soldiers and guards for it. Impa was approached by one of the three soldiers that she had sent with the Queen and said angrily when he approached her," Why are you still here?! You were supposed to go with the Queen!"

"I wanted to stay and fight alongside my fellow Soldiers ma'am! If I am to die than I prefer to die fighting for Hyrule alongside the people I have trained with. The upcoming battle may be hopeless but I will gladly fight it alongside everyone." The soldier stated giving Impa a salute knowing it was too late to accompany the Queen anyway.

Impa quickly looked around to make sure that no one heard what the soldier just said before turning her attention back to him reprimanding him for his outburst, "Very well, but never say that again. We do not want to alert the citizens and cause them to worry more. Now go back to the barracks and inform the soldiers that we will train at the crack of dawn."

The two warriors made their way out of the back alleys unaware of the fact that one of the soldiers heard what they said, the soldier was on his way home to visit his wife before going back to the barracks before he heard that. Ducking into the darkest part of the alley he watched as the two walked by him relieved that he was not seen before Impa stopped to look into the alley where he was hiding. The soldier felt his heart speed up thinking that he was spotted and that she would know that he heard everything. After a few moments Impa turned away and walked off. Once she was out of sight the soldier stepped out of the corner and quickly went to his home.

His wife smiled at him when he entered the house softly saying as she put a finger up to her ruby red lips," Ssh, our son just went to sleep. This is the first time in over a week he went to sleep so quickly, I was worried we would have to take him to the doctor. He cried for half the day…But everything is alright now. So how was your day today? Any news on the Goron's movements?"

"Medilia, you must take our son and escape Castletown. The Gorons will be here in two days and the king does not expect us to win, he believes that we will all perish. Every soldier, man, woman, and even child. They just evacuated the Queen…You /must/ leave." He told her in an urgent tone, if he could get his family out safely then he would feel better about fighting in the upcoming battle.

Medilia was shocked by her husband's sudden outburst the information almost too much for her to process, she looked at the child sleeping peacefully in the crib fear beginning to take over her body. She couldn't imagine the king betraying the people and for a moment even considered brushing her husband's outburst aside but the urgency in his tone made her think about it. She remembered seeing guards rushing past their small house only minutes ago and a woman was with them, had that been the Queen? Was the Queen fleeing to protect her child? She turned away from her husband and walked towards the crib placing a thin hand on her baby's cheek lightly stroking it, could she risk staying? She knew the answer right away. She couldn't risk staying in case her husband was correct. If she stayed she would be condemning her child and she couldn't do that, she moved her hand away from the baby placing it over her chest as tears began to fill her eyes. Now she had to decide to stay with her husband or go with her child, she didn't want to abandon either of them and turned to her husband asking him," Can't you come with us? It doesn't have to be just Arn Junior and me!"

"The guards will notice if I do not appear to fight in the battle and I cannot leave the rest of the citizens as well." Arn argued with her, deep down he did not wish to leave his wife or child as well but he wanted to save as many citizens as he could. Warning them would just lead to denial from the rest of the knights and the possible execution of his family as well for spreading those 'lies' and trying to cause a panic.

Medilia had begun packing while her husband explained his reasoning to remain behind to her, rage suddenly filling the otherwise docile woman causing her to slam a pot down shattering it on the table as she shouted at him causing their son to wake up and begin to make small noises signaling he was now awake," NONE OF US ARE HEREOS! We are just ordinary Hylians! We look after ourselves and our families! We do not go out on suicide trips trying to play the hero! We're…We're not heroes Arn! We are just ordinary people caught up in a no win situation! Don't leave me without a husband and Arn Junior without a father…Just come with us.."

For a moment it almost seemed like Arn would agree to go with them that he would leave the foolish notion of being a hero behind and just try to find a peaceful land to live the rest of the war out in. It wasn't too much to ask for that was what Medilia thought at least. She had unwillingly started to cry again and was trying to clean up the shattered remains of the pot while wiping the tears away. Arn knelt down helping her pick the broken pot up saying to her in a gentle voice," You know I can't do that. The back gates will be open for another hour…Take my horse, a bag, our son, and go. That's all we can do at this point, you have to get Arn Junior out of here. My absence would be noticed, please don't make this harder than it already is. Take Arn Junior and go."

Medilia stopped picking up the broken pot looking at her husband the tears freely falling, everything had been going so well for them. They moved out of a dying kingdom to Hyrule, Hyrule which at the time was a prosperous peaceful kingdom which is now one plagued with war and murder. It used to be the perfect place to raise their family and now she had to flee it but this time she wouldn't be fleeing with her husband. She didn't want to leave her husband behind to die like her friends and parents, she didn't want to leave anyone to die anymore. Hearing her child's attempts at crying made her change her mind and so she stood up from the floor saying to her husband," Very well. While I get Arn Junior prepared pack a bag of food for our journey."

For the next ten minutes the house was filled with silence as they gathered the supplies, Medilia had tied a blanket around her fashioning it into a sling and placing the child inside of it right as Arn returned with a bag full of supplies. She gently took it from him leaning up and giving him a small kiss saying as she made her way towards the door," I love you…May the goddesses allow us to meet again, if not this life then the next."

After that she opened the door and walked out not seeing the look of determination fade into one of sadness. Medilia kept one hand under her child as she ran behind the house to the small stable. She flipped the latch to the gate and opened it. The palomino horse lifting its head from the stack of hay it had been eating. The horse looked at Medilia with some interest as the woman said in a soft tone," Here girl, we're going for a ride Macha."

Macha eagerly abandoned her hay and walked towards Medilia excited to go out in the field for a ride, she stayed still as Medilia saddled her and got on. She lightly nudged Macha with her heels saying, "Run girl!"

The horse shot out of the stables running down the street towards the back gate, Medilia was concerned that they would be spotted before they could reach the gate. She gripped the reigns tightly her breath coming out in small frightened gasps as her blue eyes darted from building to building making sure that the curtains remained drawn tight and no one lit their lamps to attempt to peek outside. Relief filled her as the back gates came into view, it appeared that the goddesses were watching out for her, the guards were gone and no one spotted her. She urged the horse to go faster until they were on the drawbridge, she realized why the guards were not posted at the gates when the drawbridge began to rise with them on it. The fear returned as she harshly slapped Macha's hindquarters causing the horse to bolt forward making it a race against time. Medilia hunched her head down as the top of the drawbridge got closer hoping that they wouldn't be crushed, Macha reached the edge of the drawbridge and jumped. Medilia hugged her child to her in order to protect him in case they were thrown off. Macha hit the ground hard but continued to run on Medilia's command. Medilia glanced back at Castletown before turning to look ahead, everything should be fine now. She got her child out safely and everything should be alright. She sighed looking down to see Arn Junior sleeping peacefully in her arms and felt relief that he had slept through the whole ordeal.

Medilia was not accustomed to the land of Hyrule not once setting foot outside of Castletown once her husband and she had moved there. She was filled with worry and hesitation not knowing where to go and so she settled on going in a random direction hoping that it was safe to go there. Arn had not given her a map but wanted her to flee with their child. They rode throughout the night and Medilia started to relax believing that the worst was over a small smile spread across her lips. Her moment of joy was short lived however, the direction she had been riding in was straight at the enemy. Medilia's eyes widened in horror as she backed Macha up upon seeing the camp of Gorons, heart beating rapidly she tried to back away quietly until Macha snorted in irritation at being backed up getting the Gorons' attention. There was no use hiding anymore and Medilia kicked Macha forcing her to go around the encampment in an attempt to shake the Gorons who were now pursuing her. The horse having sustained an injury from jumping off the drawbridge was unable to run any faster, Medilia yelled at them as she led Macha towards the desert thinking that it would slow the Gorons down," GET AWAY FROM US!"

The only thing going through Medilia's head was get to the desert. She believed that the soft sand would create less traction for the Gorons to travel on, she hoped that her theory was right for her and her child's sake. Hope filled her as she saw the desert quickly approaching, unfortunately for her the Gorons were faster and one threw himself at Macha causing the horse to fall. Medilia untied Arn Junior from her not wanting him to be crushed under the horse, before she could find another way to secure him he had slipped from her hands falling to the ground and out of her sight. Once she hit the ground Macha landed on top of her legs causing her to cry out in pain as the bones broke under the horse's weight. Macha quickly got back up and fearfully ran away from Medilia and her son leaving the woman at the Gorons' mercy. She watched fearfully as the Gorons' surrounded her with one of them saying as he reached down pulling on her ears harshly causing her to cry out in pain," She's a Hylian! Most likely spying on us!"

She cried her tear filled eyes searching for her son and not seeing him anywhere, "No! No! I am not a spy! Please just let me go! I am a mother nothing more! Please don't harm my son!"

Her words were ignored as the Gorons' talked amongst themselves deciding what to do, she laid her head on the ground unable to stop herself from crying in front of them. She wished more than anything that her husband was a hero, that he would come riding on a horse and save her like a princess from a fairytale. It never happened the only thing she heard instead of a horse's hooves and a warrior's cry was the Gorons' saying to themselves:

"We can take her as a hostage."

"What if they decide to try a sneak attack on us then?"

"She's just one person what harm could she do?"

"I heard the Hylians also had the Sheikah on their side. She could be a Sheikah and currently talking to her people! I heard they used shadows to speak! She's too quiet!"

"Fine. Get rid of her then."

Those words made her blood run cold, she propped herself up on her elbows trying to find her son in a desperate attempt to save him but she was unable to locate him. The Gorons were blocking her line of sight and she cried out to them," I am not a Sheikah! Please don't! Just don't hurt my so-"

Medilia was unable to finish her sentence before one of the Gorons had smashed a rock against her head, she fell to the ground. She tried to find her child one last time but could not see him. She didn't even see the Goron bring the rock down one more time against her head leaving the rock on it.

"That's done…It doesn't feel good to kill an 'unarmed' woman.." The Goron murmured looking at Medilia's body regretfully. Their leader saying in a callous tone," She would've done us in just as quickly! Now she was saying something about a child. Find that kid and get rid of him too."

"Yes captain!" The Gorons said despite the order not sitting well with them. They were normally docile creatures preferring to eat rocks and stay out of trouble, but a war was going on and they had no room for compassion anymore. The Gorons went to search for the child as the captain stood around waiting for them to get it over with, they were not searching long until an arrow landed in the ground in front of the captain causing him to jump in surprise before directing a glare in the direction it came from seeing five women dressed in white holding bows with quivers full of arrows, beside them were women dressed in purple holding spears with red clad women with dual sabers standing at the front. The captain shouted," What is the meaning of this?!"

The women parted to allow a woman who looked no more than ten to approach, she had short crimson hair that reached a little past her chin and wore decorative jewelry, a white half shirt and pink baggy pants. She shouted at the Gorons pointing a double edged spear at them," You're trespassing on our land! I am Nabooru stand in ruler of the Gerudo! We are not a part of your petty war and yet you drag it onto our very soil! Be gone or else you will force our hand!"

The captain shouted back at her dislikinhg that he was being disrespected by a child," You?! A child?! Dare to talk to me like this?! We were just after a spy! You do not want us as your enemy!"

"You may not have heard me correctly. I said GO. What can a pack of Gorons do? Your kind only have strength on your side and lack the wit to kill a Gerudo much less ten of us. Believe me when I say it's YOU that do not want US as your enemies." Nabooru yelled at him, her patience wearing thin with the Goron. She spotted the murdered woman rage filling her tiny body. She didn't move a muscle until the goron decided that the Gerudo were not worth messing with and ordered his men to abandon the search and leave. She watched as they rolled off into the distance before Nabooru jumped from the ledge that she had been standing on and walked towards the woman her mother and pushed the rock off of her head before kneeling down. She reached out touching the woman's bloody strawberry blond hair before turning to her assistant who was approaching her," Anu, Let's give her a proper burial. The goddesses have failed this woman and so the sand goddess will take her in her arms and watch over her from now on."

Anu bowed her head motioning for the other Gerudo to retrieve the woman's body, Nabooru noticed a horse out of the corner of her eye standing near the scene. She turned towards the horse and noticed what looked like a bag in its mouth. She slowly walked towards the horse the creature taking a small step backwards, Nabooru softly said," Ssh, ssh. It's alright girl. Easy girl."

The soft tone soothed the panicked horse and allowed for Nabooru to approach her, Nabooru grabbed the horse's halter noticing the bag in the horse's mouth was moving. Nabooru reached for the bag only for the horse to snort in anger warning her against the movement, Nabooru continued to softly speak to the horse so that she could retrieve the bag, "It's okay girl, you can trust me. It's okay."

Macha stiffened as Nabooru reached for the bag but made no move to stop her as she took the bag from her mouth. Nabooru handed the horse off to another one the Gerudo saying to the woman, "This is a fine horse and would be a wonderful addition to our stables. Keep a tight hold she is free spirited."

"Yes, my lady." The Gerudo replied.

Nabooru slowly opened the bag her golden eyes widening when she saw the little boy inside, the kid was crying with no sound coming from his mouth. She saw that he was injured as well. For a moment Nabooru considered tossing the baby aside and just taking the horse due to the baby being male but one of the Gerudo elders who had accompanied them spoke up as she looked over Nabooru's shoulder at the golden haired boy," It's been three centuries since we have been blessed with a boy. This may not be the most ideal of circumstances but we need a male ruler and this child no longer has a family. Consider this the goddess's way of blessing us. Now hurry Nabooru take him to the healers! We do not want the goddess to think we are ungrateful for her gift! He is the link between us and our goddess."

The elder's words had convinced Nabooru that this child was indeed a gift from the goddess, she didn't like the thought of no longer being ruler. She had forced herself to grow up sooner for this role but at the same time it was their custom to have a male ruler and it has been three hundred years since they had one leading her to believe that this was really fate. Nabooru said as she rushed him to the Gerudo healer," The link between us and our goddess….Link..He will be named Link."

Link was a fine name for the child. Once Nabooru arrived at the healers she said to them placing the child on the table," The goddess has sent us a gift, our new ruler. His name is Link and he requires immediate medical attention! Hurry!"

The healers made Nabooru leave the tent as they worked to save the child that she brought in, Nabooru sat outside of the tent staring at the others who were now laying the boy's mother to rest sending her off with a prayer.

Two hours later one of the healers exited the tent, by then most of the fortress had gathered around the small tent curious over the child. The healer said to them shoving a few of the women back," Hey! Stop crowding! The boy will live, but whatever happened to him has affected his voice. No matter what we did we were unable to fix it. Link will grow up without a voice, in other words Link will be a mute."

Nabooru stood right then speaking up, she had a long time to think about this and knew what needed to be done now," Then let his actions speak louder than words! The whole fortress will care for him so that we may all grow accustomed to how he 'speaks' and when he is old enough he will lead us."

The other Gerudo all agreed that they will all help in raising the child sleeping inside of the tent and follow him when the time comes for him to lead them. Nabooru was satisfied with their answers turning away from them to go to her quarters to retire for the day while the healer went back into the tent to tend to Link. The child peacefully resting in his cradle unaware of the plans that were made for him and all that he had lost.


	2. Chapter2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Princess! Do you even hear yourself right now? You’re talking the same garbled nonsense your mother did…They’re just stories. There are no heroes of time or heroes of Twilight. We need to focus on our fortifications and counterattacks not tracking down heroes from a children’s story. I apologize if this is out of line, I desire nothing more than for the stories to be true and some hero clad in green will come and rescue our beloved Hyrule but they are stories and if we depend on them we will lose everything. Please remain focused.”

The years slowly dragged on and the war continued with heavy casualties on both sides, the only race to have remained relatively unscathed from the violence were the Gerudos. Their fierce, loyal, and protective nature between one another was the only force standing between them and destruction, they were united against those who sought to invade their desert and for the past seventeen years they have been successful. They were humble and instead gave credit to their goddess. They proclaimed each year that it was the will of the goddess that allowed them to thrive in their sandy home and that she protected them against the invaders. It was an answer that satisfied everyone for now. 

Walking through the sandy dessert was the leader of the Gerudo Nabooru and beside her was her second in command Link, perched atop his shoulder was a colorful bird that did not seem even the slightest bit bothered by the harsh wind and the sand that was thrown in their faces. Nabooru held her hand up signaling Link to stop and motioned towards a caravan not bothering to whisper since the wind would mask their voices from the unsuspecting occupants,” Link. We cannot afford to let this caravan escape, our supplies are dwindling. We need the supplies on this caravan, we cannot make the same mistake as last time.” 

Link remembered last time really well, the operation was going smoothly and they had surrounded the caravan and were about to overtake it, but he made a mistake. He did not notice that there were archers trailing behind the caravan in case the caravan ventured into an ambush and so they were forced to retreat. He had been the look out and he failed them causing the death of one of their best swordman. He bowed his head in shame with the memory as the bird on his soldier said in a crystal clear voice as it ruffled its feathers and bowed its head,” It was an error. Should have been more careful, it won’t happen again!”

She spared a moment to give the young boy a small smile stating as she took her spear from her back,” It seems that bird was not as useless as I thought it would be. He reads your facial expressions and body language well Link, but I wonder if that creature can truly portray the thoughts and emotions that you possess. Do not always depend on Anis to say your words. Sometimes parroted words will not be enough to help you, but enough of this. We can speak more of it at the camp. Remember Anis can serve as a distraction while we flank them, there are no more than five guards with the caravan. An easy steal don’t you think? Perhaps your reputation will finally make it to Castletown.” 

Giving a chuckle she roughly patted Link on the back before jumping from the sand dune they were perched on. The heavy winds causing the sand to create a natural smokescreen and hide their movements from the guards. It would only last for so long though, once they got close then they would be easily spotted and so Anis finally took flight. His feathers the only source of color amidst the dull brown sand, his piercing amber eyes looked over the caravan confirming there were only five guards. It was rare to see a common bird so far out in the dessert and could only stare at the magnificent bird wondering why it was circling them. For a moment they thought that perhaps it was lost and could not find it’s way out of the dessert. One of the guards placed his weapon down and was about to approach Anis when he landed and began to ‘innocently’ groom himself.

The guard did not get the chance to approach Anis before an arrow was sent through his neck, the other guards had no time to react before they were jointly eliminated by Nabooru and Link. Once the skirmish was over Nabooru began to inspect the caravan stating as she ripped the canvas off the wooden frame,” As I suspected. A human war caravan. Do they believe us to be fools? We have seen their attempts at camping on our land, they are trying to keep out of the reach of the Zora and Hylians but in doing so they are dragging their useless war onto our soil and tarnishing our sacred ground! Our people are starving because they cannot reconcile.”

Her composure slipped as she threw the canvas to the sand and threw a barrel of daggers out glaring at the weapons, she rarely lost her composure and usually held an aloof stoic air about her, but they were on the brink of starvation. The dessert was no longer providing for them and the caravans they depended on were few and far between, no one wanted to travel and remained huddled at home hoping that the war would end soon. It’s bee seventeen years and it was only escalating.  
Anis flew back to Link and landed on his shoulder while the young man inspected the caravan, the bird stated as it moved down Link’s arm and peeked inside as well,” Not much, but it has supplies. Enough for the children and elderly at least. “

Link did not know how he could comfort Nabooru or put her mind at ease, he never knew what peace was like or what the outside world was like. All he knew was the heat of the desert, the glare of the unforgiving sun in the sky, and the isolation of being forced to remain in the valley while the others were able to go and gather supplies. Was there really a world outside of the valley? He often imagined it being a black hole that he would fall into if he ever got close to the edge of the valley, what was beyond the line where the sand meets the sky? 

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Nabooru started to take the supplies out of the caravan,” It will have to be enough…I will send some of our best into the town to see if they can get more..I do not wish to ask this of them..”

Link helped her with the supplies looking at them and how little it was, they had been hoping for a merchants caravan but their luck had run out years ago and they were barely scrapping by. Not even the men in town gave the Gerudo women the time of day, they were seen as traitors for not taking a side in the war and the Hylians had gone so far as to murdering some of the Gerudo who went into town. Turning to Nabooru he got her attention and pointed to the horizon knowing that Castletown was beyond that point. 

“You want to go to Castletown? Ha! Link, you know you have too many duties here. If you are to become king you have to be here for the people. Give them advice and lead them, we have gone over this many times before. I will not always be in charge, once you are eighteen you will take the throne and I will remain by your side as your advisor. In that time you are to remain in the valley and train.” Nabooru sternly told him, time and time again he would practically beg to be allowed to leave the valley and go into town. Each time he was denied, she hoped that one day he will stop asking and accept that he was not meant to leave the valley. 

Once all of the supplies had been gathered she strapped them to the backs of the caravan’s horses saying to him as she avoided eye contact,” We each have our own place in this valley. The archers take care of the stables, the sword masters guard our homes and remain as lookouts, the elders make sure that the people are taken care of, the people cook for the town, I lead our people and try to make the proper decisions. Your place in this hierarchy is to take mine. Ever since I laid eyes on you I knew you would have the strength of a soldier, the intellect of a scholar, and the dignity of a king. You were our gift and you will be the one to lead us. It’s been centuries since the Gerudo has had a male heir, but Link tomorrow is the day. Your crowning will be tomorrow and then everyone will answer to you. I’ve tried to get you ready for your role and the burden that comes with it, I only pray that I’ve been successful. You will learn our history and we will leave it all in your hands. But you must never leave this valley. No matter the reason. Will you promise me that?”

She turned to look at Link, her striking golden eyes were hard for him to look away from. It seemed like they were piercing his very soul, that she was looking for the answer that she wanted, no that she needed from him. Despite the explanations given to him time and time again he never understood why he couldn’t leave the valley, but he did not want to disappoint Nabooru believing that perhaps she did have a good reason to insist that he stayed in the valley. Even though his heart was telling him to explore the world outside Link gave Nabooru a small nod promising that he would never leave the valley. 

It seemed like a weight had been lifted from Nabooru when she agreed with her, she began to backtrack the horses obeying her,” I will hold you to that Link. Remember a lie is worse than outright rebellion. Now we must return before the sun gets any higher or else we may boil!”

Hyrule Castle

The elegant halls were lined with unwavering soldiers the young princess noted as she silently walked to her room. She quickly averted her gaze and looked down at the red carpet, she wondered was it red to hide blood stains or to show that they were royalty? She heard the history of the town and that two days after she was born the very town was invaded and her father along with the townspeople murdered. Surprisingly the Gorons had left everything intact, maybe they held some respect towards history? She would never know. She reached the main hall and looked up at the statue of her father, what kind of man was he? She did not know and never would. Would he have been proud that at the age of thirteen she had led an army to retake the town and the castle? That she had been successful?  
“Thinking of the King again, Princess?” A figure asked as he stepped out of the shadows, besides a few tufts of black hair his bright red eyes could only be seen from the cowl. He was one of the last Sheikah and was given the task of protecting the princess, he looked at the statue stating as he stood beside the princess,” I can recall him. He was a fine regal man, he ruled unwaveringly but with compassion. I was only eight when we lost him but you have the same wisdom and you rule with the same certainty.”

The princess jumped and put a hand to her chest feeling how her heart was racing, she should be used to how the young man would suddenly appear like that. She said to him looking away with sadness in her eyes,”Rúni..I..I was just wondering if he would have been proud of me..We’ve come a long way but there is still so much that needs to be done. I just hope I am doing the right thing.”

“You’ve won back the castle and the town. I believe that he would be very proud knowing he has such a talented and intelligent daughter. Your coronation will be soon and do not worry I will remain by your side and look over your mother as well. I caught her browsing through the library today instead of laying in bed. She was reading a book about the hero of time. The fable we’ve all grown up reading.” He believed that she would feel better knowing her mother was now walking around and that she was not entirely bedridden anymore but he was met with a fierce almost angry look instead,” Did I say something out of line, Princess Zelda?”

Zelda’s hand closed into a fist whispering in a strict tone,” It’s not a fable..It really happened…The story of Twilight and how we even came to Hyrule are all true too! They happened…I dreamt it, it was real. That’s why I was also thinking we need to find him. We need to find the man from the stories! He’s a hylian right? That means he can save Hyrule! He can end this war! He ca-..”

“Princess! Do you even hear yourself right now? You’re talking the same garbled nonsense your mother did…They’re just stories. There are no heroes of time or heroes of Twilight. We need to focus on our fortifications and counterattacks not tracking down heroes from a children’s story. I apologize if this is out of line, I desire nothing more than for the stories to be true and some hero clad in green will come and rescue our beloved Hyrule but they are stories and if we depend on them we will lose everything. Please remain focused.” Rúni pled with her, the princess was wise and ever since her mother stepped down as ruler she has led her people down the right path. He had no doubts on her ability to lead but he feared that if she gave into the stories like her mother then she would follow that dark and heartbreaking path. As her advisor and bodyguard he desired nothing more than to see her find her own way and lead the land into a time of peace and prosperity.

“You are out of line! It is not your place to say if they are stories or not. They happened. I know they did and if you will excuse me I have some matters to attend to. This conversation is over.” She was not even done with her sentence before she had exited the room leaving the slightly angry Sheikah behind.  
She could feel it, a darkness creeping up on the land and she knew she had to find the knight from the stories. She had to find him and warn him of the evil that was quickly approaching. If she didn’t then Hyrule would not be the only place at stake. 

None of them knew the state the world was really in. While the princess was locked away in the castle vainly trying to find a way to get the upper hand in the war while surrounded by her most trusted servants and guards; Link was sitting around a cozy campfire in the dessert with the other young adults passing around a small bowl of food taking a small sip of soup before passing it on while the children and elderly were on the other side with individual bowls both content and ashamed that they got to eat a full meal to themselves. Despite the hardships they faced Link did not believe it was a terrible life to live. He felt at home and happy with his family in the desert.  
Later that night Zelda found herself back in the hall thinking over Runi’s words before stopping in front of a painting depicting a tall, dark, red haired man with evil eyes. That painting terrified her and she wondered what it’s purpose was but at the same time she felt like she already knew. Zelda asked the young Sheikah knowing that he had followed her into the room her gaze never wandered from the painting,” What if the war is not our true problem? I feel uneasy and I’ve had nothing but horrible nightmares the past fortnight. It is a sign of a great evil coming…. or perhaps it’s already here.”


End file.
